Victory could have gone either way when Dumas traveled to Canyon for volleyball Tuesday.

Each set was close as the Dumas Demonettes (21-10, 2-0) topped the Canyon Lady Eagles 21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 15-10 in a District 3-4A showdown.

“It was intense,” Dumas coach Julie Elliott said. “Sarah (Morath) is doing a good job with Canyon. They have some girls who can get up there and hit the ball. We didn’t do a very good job of blocking or controlling the net. It was a defensive battle, it was up to which team could get it up and which team could put the ball down. Luckily we came out on top. I feel very fortunate to get that win.”

Even when Canyon jumped out to a 21-11 lead in set one, Dumas never gave up and outscored Canyon 10-4 over the final run.

“We always start out really slow but we finish with the momentum,” Dumas setter Bailey Wackler said. “I thought we carried that out through the rest of those games. We knew coming into it, it would be a good game. We just kept fighting and kept our heads up and came away with the win.”

Elliott said she expected Canyon (16-11, 0-2) to come out swinging.

“I knew Canyon was going to be tough,” Elliott said. “We just weren’t on our game in the beginning. It took us a good part of that first set to get going.”

“I think that momentum did carry us through the other sets,” Elliott said. “It was a long match. I know my girls are dog tired. It was that neither team was going to let the ball hit the floor. It was just a great defensive battle.”

Wackler was strong on offense and defense for the Demonettes, tallying 39 assists and 39 digs as well as an ace. Christian Rhoades led the team in kills with 18, Taylor Holt added 11.

Canyon coach Sarah Morath said her team made too many mistakes.

“I think that we had way too many unforced errors against a good team,” Morath said. “We knew it was going to be close, we knew it was going to be back to back. We are conditioned enough to play as many five-set matches as we can. It’s just frustrating. There is always something positive to look for. We are learning from our mistakes. Seeing someone for the first time, we now know what to expect the second go-around. I know that our girls are hungry to see what we can do.”

Elliott said the two teams are even and said that’s just a product of District 3-4A volleyball.

“I would say we are pretty even,” Elliott said. “We both have great defenses, we both have hitters who can put the ball away. I feel like their hitters outhit ours tonight. I feel like my defense stepped up and played well. It was very close. In this district, any time you can get a win it’s good. It’s a battle and if that match doesn’t show it right there I don’t know what will. It’s going to be tough all year long.”